Alabama politicians and leaders called for communal remembrance, contemplation and action on the 62nd anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
16th Street Baptist Church was established in 1873 and was the first Black church to organize in the city.
The church was a key meeting place for organizers and activists during the Civil Rights Movement, which became the target of a racially motivated bombing on September 3, 1963, organized by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The act of racial terror caused the deaths of 11-year-old Carol Denise McNair and 14-year-olds Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley, who were preparing for a service in the church’s basement. Numerous individuals in and around the church were also injured in the attack.
“On this day 62 years ago, hatred shattered the walls of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. A bomb planted by white supremacists exploded, killing four innocent little girls,” read a Monday Facebook post from the 16th Street Baptist Church.
“They were just children—dressed in their Sunday best, preparing for worship. Their lives, filled with dreams and hope, were stolen in an instant,” the church’s statement continued. “But they were not alone in that basement. Sarah Collins Rudolph, Addie Mae’s sister, survived the blast—physically wounded, emotionally scarred, but profoundly resilient. For decades, she lived in the shadow of tragedy, her pain often overlooked. Yet she stands strong, speaking truth to power, demanding that history not forget her or what happened that day.”
“Sarah reminds us that the impact of hate reverberates far beyond the moment of violence. She is a living witness to both the horror and the hope. Today, we honor them all—the four who never grew up and the one who grew up carrying the weight of remembrance,” the church wrote. “Let us reflect. Let us grieve. Let us teach. Let us never forget the sacrifice of these five young girls and all those wounded, murdered, and forever changed on that fateful day. Because remembering is not just mourning—it’s a commitment to justice. We also honor the many who were injured or murdered in the surrounding chaos—people whose stories must never be forgotten.”
Later in the day on September 15, 1963, during the unrest following the bombing, two Black boys, 16-year-old Johnny Robinson Jr. and 13-year-old Virgil Ware, were shot and killed, Robinson by a Birmingham police officer and Ware by a white teenager.
A service memorializing the four girls was held at 16th Street Baptist Church on Monday morning.
The memorial event featured performances from the Carlton Reese Memorial Unity Choir, a choir composed of surviving members of the Original Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Choir, the musical ensemble formed in 1959 by Birmingham civil rights leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. Guest speaker and former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley was also in attendance.
Baxley was responsible for reopening the cold bombing case in 1971, leading the 1977 prosecution and conviction of bombing conspirator Robert Edward Chambliss. Chambliss was convicted of first-degree murder of McNair and sentenced to life in prison.
It wasn’t until 2001 and 2002 that two additional conspirators, Bobby Cherry and Edwin Blanton Jr., were prosecuted and charged by then U.S. Attorney for Alabama’s Northern District and future U.S. Senator Doug Jones, D-Ala, and sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of all four girls.
The alleged fourth bombing conspirator, Herman Cash, died in 1994 and never faced prosecution or sentencing.
Reverend Arthur Price Jr. of 16th Street Baptist Church emphasized the importance of remembering the attack and acting against contemporary instances of discrimination in an interview with WBRC ahead of the event.
“[The Bombing] was an act of violence, an act of racism and hatred, and we still have racism and hatred going on and violence going on in our world today. So, we feel as though we need to remember so that we can recommit ourselves to continuing to fight against hatred and racism and bigotry,” Price said.
Price also highlighted the lasting impact of responses to the attack from the Birmingham community, civil rights leaders and politicians, which led to the advancement of civil rights protections.
“People were angry, and their anger turned into activism. The activism turned into action, and that action made people agents of change. Because in 1964, we get the Civil Rights Act passed. In ’65, the Voting Rights Act passed,” said Price.
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, called for remembrance of the four lives lost in the bombing and reflection on the event’s impacts on the Civil Rights Movement in a video shared over social media.
“Today is a solemn day,” Sewell said. “We must know the Four Little Girls by name: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson. Those four precious lives were lost so that so many of the freedoms and opportunities that we enjoy today, we could have. I know it’s never lost on me that I get to walk the halls of Congress because they can’t, because of their sacrifice.”
“I hope that you will pause today and remember, and reflect, and recommit ourselves to the cause for which our ancestors fought: civil rights, voting rights, and civil liberties,” Sewell continued.
Sewell pointed to her first piece of sponsored legislation passed into law, which posthumously gave a Congressional Gold Medal to each of the girls killed in the attack.
The law was enacted in 2013 by former President Barack Obama, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the bombing.
“What an honor it was for me to be able to watch the President of the United States sign my very first piece of legislation, and wasn’t it befitting, that that first piece of legislation would honor the amazing legacy of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District,” Sewell said. “Our district is a district full of history, but none is more important than the sacrifices of others that have allowed us to enjoy the freedoms that we have to enjoy today.”
“I hope that you will pause today and remember and reflect and recommit yourself to the cause for which our ancestors fought, civil rights, voting rights and civil liberties,” the representative added.
U.S. Representative Shomari Figures, D-Alabama, alongside U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, also released social media statements calling for remembrance of the 1963 bombing.
Figures called for remembrance of the bombing’s victims and drew attention to Sarah Collins Rudolph’s continued activism.
“This tragedy—for Birmingham, our state, and our nation—stands as a powerful reminder of the turmoil America faced during the Civil Rights Movement and the heroes who confronted the dark demons of hatred, bigotry, and racism,” Britt wrote. “Today and every day, let us honor the lives of these precious girls not just through remembrance, but through a steadfast commitment to uphold the God-given rights of and dignity of every human being.”
“This violent tragedy is a somber reminder of what can happen when hatred and evil go unchecked,” Tuberville wrote. “Today, we honor the memory of Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Denise McNair. They will never be forgotten.”
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin also urged remembrance of the attack on Monday, as well as contemporary action to advance civil rights protections and fight racist rhetoric.
“62 years ago today, white supremacists robbed four beautiful souls of their lives at 16th Street Baptist Church,” Woodfin wrote.
“That’s why, 62 years later, we continue to push back against the racist rhetoric that still infiltrates our nation. It’s why we fight tirelessly to uphold the rights given to us by our constitution,” Woodfin added. “That is why we will always say their names.”
The Birmingham chapter of Black Lives Matter held a memorial wreath-laying ceremony Monday night at Kelly Ingram Park’s statue honoring the four young girls.
Black Lives Matter Birmingham co-founder Eric Hall, as well as state Representative Jaundalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, asked for community involvement in the event.
In a statement from Black Lives Matter Birmingham shared by Hall, the organization denounced the bombing as “a heinous act of racial violence that claimed the lives of these innocent children and left an indelible mark on our nation.”
“We gather to remember, to honor, and to ensure that the legacy of these young girls lives on,” said Hall in a written statement. “While others have selective outrage over Charlie Kirk, these young girls lives were a testament to the resilience and strength of our community. We must continue to fight for justice and equality in their name.”
“The bombing not only shook the spirit of Birmingham but also ignited a movement for civil rights and justice that continues to resonate with us today,” the statement read. “All members of the community are invited to attend this reflective and meaningful ceremony, which will serve as both a tribute to the past and a call to action for the future.”
